


Drove Past You

by DenebYL



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - College/University, Banter, Crushes, Drunk Dialing, Drunk confessions, Humor, Love Confessions, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Pining, THANKS YURI I HATE THIS, childhood crushes, uber driver au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-24 03:05:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14946431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DenebYL/pseuds/DenebYL
Summary: AU where Ren and Akechi were childhood friends that grew apart, and met again. Thanks Uber.The Uber AU no one ever asked for. Please file all complaints to Tales_Of_Chrom.





	1. "Are you weird?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANKS YURI I HATE THIS

“So…”

Ren leaned back towards Ryuji and Ann, and held his phone up higher for both Ryuji and Ann to see the small profile picture on the bottom screen.

“My Uber driver tonight looks so much cuter than yesterday’s.”

“His name is… Goro Akechi.” Ann read his name. “I mean, he doesn’t look bad at all.”

“Not bad?” Ren turned to look at her, feigning disappointment. “How dare you.”

“…You did say her girlfriend was ‘not bad’ when you first met her, so I’d say that was a fair shot.” Ryuji chimed in.

“Point made.” Ann high-fived Ryuji.

“Bro.” Ren called out, his voice masking all other emotions but disappointment.

“...It’s too late to say that I’m not involved now, isn’t it?” He turned to Ann, regretting what he had said.

“Pretty much, yeah.” She shrugged.

“Okay, then.” He then turned to the rest of the group, only to earn a questioning look from Makoto.

“What…?” Makoto was the first to speak up, though she was slightly hesitant to.

“Is he hot?”

“…Again, are there wrong answers?” Makoto asked, obviously having gone through this ordeal before.

“Again, there _are_ wrong answers.”

“What are my options?” Yuusuke pondered, a hand on his chin.

“Yes and yes.”

“He’s just okay, you guys.” Ann spoke from her side.

“Anyone who isn’t dead to me?” Ren responded, quickly looking at Ann and then back at the other three he was scrutinising earlier.

“Well, he has wonderful eyes.” Haru smiled.

“Thank you. They do look familiar to me, though…” He paused for a bit, and sighed. They definitely look familiar, but... where from?

“Maybe that’s you from the future, telling you that it’s your husband?” Ann joked.

“You are finally resurrected in my eyes, Takamaki.”

“…That’s not…” She sighed. “You know what, as long as you’re happy.”

Ren turned his phone back toward him, and his lips curved into a tiny, gleeful smile.

“Anyway, my prince on a… white Honda Jazz has finally called. I will leave you guys with my memory.” He quickly stood up, and walked towards the door.

“Do you even know what a Honda Jazz looks like?” Ann muttered, turning toward Ren on her stool.

“Well, there’s this thing called Google.” He pulled the door handle, and took his phone out swiftly, posing slightly as if to one-up Ann.

“You said the exact same thing two nights ago, and you got so lost that your Uber driver cancelled on you.”

“It’s not my fault they all look the same.” He scoffed, letting go of the door handle and letting in a few last words in before the door closed completely. “Anyway, don’t wait up.”

“We absolutely won’t!” Ann said in a slightly louder voice, though whether or not he heard it from the closed door is a mystery to everyone but Ren.

-

“So…” Ren spoke up amidst the silence, and stilled, waiting for Akechi’s response.

“…Yes?” He asked, eyes back to watching the road.

 _Should I ask if he’s single? Wait, is it too forward? Is it just weird?_ Ren’s thoughts coursed through his mind at an erratic speed, so much so that the words he managed to let out was most absolutely a mistake.

“So… Are you… weird?” He deadpanned, only to realise his mistake a few seconds later.

“...I…am not?” The man behind the steering wheel awkwardly chuckled.

“Wait… Wait, that’s not…”

 _Crap, did I just...?_ He cursed to himself. _Okay, Amamiya. It’s not the end of the world. Though it probably should be…. Wow, there really is no coming back from that._

He cleared his throat, and decided to take another go at it.

“Sorry. I meant to ask if, uh…”

Ren paused again, second-guessing his decision to ask a complete stranger in a complete stranger’s car, if said complete stranger was single. He wondered if he was coming off a little too strong, or if he was just being creepy…

Worst case scenario, he gets kicked out and is now stranded in the middle of Kita-sando, at 2 in the morning.

“I’m sorry if this isn’t my place to say,” The brown haired man spoke. “But if you were just drinking, would you like to have some water?”

Ren shook his head slightly.

“I haven’t—I haven’t been drinking, actually.”

So instead, he decided to change his strategy.

“Anyway, I… wanted to ask if you’re in Shinjuku a lot?” He laughed.  
“It’s just that I feel like I’ve seen your car a few times there. Which was… why I said weird.”

“Oh?” Akechi chuckled, and continued. “I thought this car is extremely common. And you remembered my plate number as well?”

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Do you live near there?”

“I live around Shibuya, actually.” The other man responded, and Ren could see that his lips had curved into a small smile.

“It’s quite a drive from Shibuya to Shinjuku, isn’t it?”

“It’s about 15 minutes, give or take.” Akechi shrugged.

“Why Shinjuku, then?”

“Well…” He hummed to himself. “A lot of customers are there, for one…”

“Two?”

“Two…” Akechi paused, and then looked at Ren through the rearview mirror – only to look startled and he decreased the car speed, and his expression was as if something had suddenly clicked in his mind.

“…Huh?”

“Pardon me for that, but I… must ask. Did you used to live in Osaka?”

Ren was taken aback, thinking that he had accidentally lilted his voice so much so that he had revealed his Kansai accent – but what was with the reaction?

“…Uh, yes?”

Akechi quickly pulled over, and turned to Ren, and he looked absolutely astonished.

“Ren. Ren Amamiya, the one who went to elementary school with a neon pink bag once?”

“…Wait.” Ren raised an eyebrow. “How did you know that?”

“…It’s me.”

“…You’re… you?”

“You really don’t remember me, do you?”

-

“He was your _what_?!”

“For real?!”

“Not so loud!” Ren shushed them, awkwardly avoiding the glares that were sent their way.

“Crap!” She closed her mouth.

“But… yeah. Apparently. That’s him, alright.” He sighed. “Waited with him at the bus stop, walked home with him... All that. The same one I had a crush on back in elementary school.”

“...Dude, for real though. The chances of that happening are insane.” Ryuji raised an eyebrow.

“I know, but here we are.” Ren shrugged. “And turns out, I didn't even remember his name. At all.”

“You know what, that does _properly_ explain why you thought that those eyes were familiar.” She chimed in. “What a crazy coincidence, though.”

“How did he react to you forgetting him?” Ryuji asked.

“Well, he was disappointed, obviously.” Ren shrugged.  
“But, uh, then it all came to me within a few moments. Then it was just me awkwardly saying hey to him, it’s been so long…”

“…Man, put that down on the list of weird occurrences of 2018.” Ann slumped in her seat. “Here I was, excited to hear you fail at flirting with a stranger, again.”

"Not really a stranger, though." Ren commented. 

"Same thing." She laughed. 

“So little yet so much faith in one man.” Ryuji commented.

“You know it.” She raised a palm towards Ryuji, to which he responded by giving her a high-five. “Okay, but seriously, how did the night end? What did he say when he dropped you off?”

“He just said I’ll see you around. That’s it.” Ren sighed. “I don’t know. I want to – I mean, he’s kind of hot now, I guess.”

“You guess?” The blonde male laughed.

“Alright, you know what,” He put a hand up, blocking Ryuji’s watchful eyes from his sight. “Instead of talking about my childhood crush, let's just do the essay.”

"Okay, but did he at all know about your crush back then?" He probed again, a wide grin on his face.

"Ryuji, I will call your mom."

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> takes a long, long, LONG sigh


	2. "You Uberin'?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi ponders over his past, and accidental confessions ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was only meant to have 2 chapters wowwwwww good lord
> 
>  
> 
> unfiltered drunk ren is my fave ren tbh

Akechi sighed, having just parked on the roadside, still trying to recover from last night.

_What a coincidence._ He thought to himself.

To meet his once closest friend, through an application used by everyone and their mothers, in the ever-crowded Shinjuku… What were the chances that that would have happened, if at all?

Akechi laughed to himself, shaking his head.

_…One hell of a coincidence, indeed._ He looked out of the window, watching the raindrops pitter-patter against the glass. 

He remembered seeing the name Ren Amamiya and didn’t think much of it. What were the chances? After all, when you work with so many names, eventually they all just blur.

Though he did pause before accepting – he just had to think to himself, what if this was _the_ Ren Amamiya?  
But that was impossible, wasn’t it?

Little did he know.

He smiled a little to himself, recalling how they first had met in class – how he didn’t even take notice of Ren until he came to school one day with a pink bag the shade of a toxic neon, and how he had come up to Akechi and told him that the pastel pink bag Akechi wears is no match for his.

For… reasons that Akechi still hadn’t quite figured out, they became close friends after that.

They would wait for each other by the bus stop en route to school, Ren greeting him with a joke at least once a day, without fail.

They would share the lunch that they were brought, though it was mostly Ren taking the octopus sausages that Akechi had, and Ren would buy him something from the convenience store on their way home as an apology.

They would go home together, one of them waiting for the other by the school gates, and Akechi would always notice how Ren’s face lit up every time he was spotted in the crowd.

But then the memories became bittersweet.

Akechi recalled how he had to move from Osaka to Tokyo as soon as he had graduated elementary school, and he especially recalled how heartbroken Ren looked when he broke the news.

He recalled all those letters and e-mails that Ren had sent him over the years – he talked about visiting Tokyo one day, any updates about the neighbourhood cat that they used to feed…

Until eventually, the messages stopped.

Of course, he understood that he had himself to blame too – over the years, there were fewer moments that he could have had to himself. Time he could have used to properly read the letters and respond.

He remembered that the last message he ever got from Ren was an e-mail, sent approximately four years ago, detailing how he had decided to enrol in a University in Tokyo, and he had hoped that they could meet each other and catch up.

But Akechi never got the chance to properly reply, and eventually forgot about it…

Until today, he supposes.

Akechi reached for his phone, and he stared at the lock screen.

_Should I… text him?_ He thought to himself, a sudden wave of guilt washing over him.

Suddenly, a number popped up on his screen. Startled, he dropped his phone onto his lap and hastily picked it up, swiping on the green button.

“…Goro Akechi speaking.” He said, trying his best to retain the calm composure he usually has.

“Hey!”

A familiar voice from the other line – of course it was familiar. He had just heard the exact same voice last night.

“You Uberin’?” He asked.

“…Ren?” Instead of answering, he questioned the man on the other end.

“Are you Ubering tonight or not?” Ren asked again.

“Are you drunk?”

“Psh, no. You are.” Ren’s tone was accusatory.

“…Good night, Ren.”

Akechi was just about to hang up at this point – he would very much rather talk to Ren when he’s sober.

But then Ren called his name, and that startled him.

“Akechi.”

“…Yes?” He cautiously answered. Ren’s tone was oddly serious…?

“Hey, Akechi, seriously. Are you Ubering or not?”

“…Not tonight.” He gave up, and answered the question.

“Turn your app on, I need you to Uber me home.” Ren pleaded.

“You know, there are plenty others out there.”

“But I want you to Uber me home.”

“That’s not how Uber works, you can’t just call someone and—“

“Not with that attitude.” He interrupted Akechi, with a tone that was oddly proud.

“I intend to keep this attitude.” Akechi’s voice was stern.

“But you’re the only one I see from here.”

Suddenly alert, Akechi hastily looked at all the windows – yet there was absolutely nothing.  
He was definitely not game to deal with a drunk person at this point, not that it helped that the drunk person was Ren Amamiya himself.

“Do you mean that you see me from the phone? Funny.” He groaned.

“No, seriously, I’m… right here. I’m knocking on your car door. Knock knock.”

_You are not._ Akechi sighed. _You most definitely are not._

“Where are you? I’ll pick you up.”

-

“Goro Akechi, to the rescue.” Ren laughed under his breath.

“Yep, here I am.” He awkwardly laughed. “And if you must know, you didn’t even knock on a car. That was a pickup truck.”

“Same thing.”

“No.”

“Four wheels…”

“Well…”

“And it’s white.”

“I’m not even going to go there.”

“…You took so long…”

“…I took my time, yes.”

“No.” He shook his head. “…Why did it take you so long…?” He muttered, and his voice got smaller. It was indiscernible to Akechi at this point.

“Sorry?” Akechi asked again, looking at Ren through the rearview mirror. “…I didn’t quite catch that.”

“I…” He mumbled

“…I really did not catch that, again.”

Ren mumbled the words again, but Akechi could have sworn that he was intentionally reducing the volume – and he was growing impatient of drunk Ren.

So he responded with silence, and a look of frustration through the rearview mirror, which Ren caught.

“You’re too far away.” Ren sighed, and looked away.

There was only silence between them at the moment; Ren staring at the seemingly wayward streetlights passing by him as he subconsciously counted them, and Akechi stewing in his own thoughts - on whether or not he should say something.

“If you’re asking why it took me so long to pick you up, it’s because I was really contemplating not to.” Akechi finally decided to say.

Ren slowly turned to look at him, looking confused.

“…I’m not… I don’t know. I wanted to hang up and go home.” Akechi sighed. “I wanted to figure out what to do. Having seen you after all those years… and for not replying to your messages – where do I start?”

He paused, wondering if he should continue even further or stop right there.

…Ren’s drunk. He wouldn’t remember all of this, right? Akechi pondered, and nodded to himself.

“I just… I barely had time to.” He continued.  
“I had a hard time fitting in, and then I… It’s harsh to say that I forgot, but I genuinely did, over the years.”

Akechi shook his head slightly.

“…There were also the feelings that I had for you that I had to deal with.”

Realising what he had just said, he stuttered a little bit and tried to digress – he did not want to risk Ren remembering this spontaneous confession.

“Uh, anyway…” He cleared his throat. “I really don’t know what else to say besides I’m sorry.”

Silence continued to fill the air, and Akechi watched Ren as he appeared to be processing what he had said…

And in less than a second, Ren’s face lit up a bright red.

“You… what?”  
Akechi could feel all his courage wilt away, and immediately, he pulled over.

“...Ah,” He paused, feeling his face slightly flush. “Please tell me you’re still drunk.”

Ren responded with uncontrollable giggling and pointed at Akechi.

“W-What?”

“You made it sound like… you were the only one!”

“…The only one to what?” He asked, raising an eyebrow

“To have feelings.” He started having hiccups.

“…” Akechi raised an eyebrow, unsure if this was going to end well. “Let’s not—“

“I’ve liked you since elementary! I think.” Ren mumbled, frowning - but it was loud enough for Akechi to hear every single word. "...Wow, honesty feels so good.”

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd like to personally apologise to future me for somehow spiralling down this Au and ending up with more chapters than intended.
> 
> kinda wanna say he deserves it but ehhhhhh


	3. "Stakeout Van."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ann and Ryuji offer moral support.
> 
> By being there.
> 
> In a stakeout van.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY i didn't have internet for 1 week and I had to move places bc our landlord was selling the place and we're here like "We broke we can't buy" and we had to scout and hhhhhhh boy
> 
> at least I'm like 5 minutes away from chatime and HSPs now so cheers to that

Ren couldn’t take it anymore.

So he turned to his side and took his phone, texting frantically into the group chat.

_Emergency. Seriously. Who’s free today? Please see me before I decide to drown myself at Inokashira._

It was just shy of 11 o’clock on a Saturday, and Ren had just woken up on his bed in the Leblanc attic.

It had been several days since he had last made any contact with Akechi – and he had been refusing to so much as _think_ about it.

But now that he was... the memories of everything that had happened the last time he had seen Akechi hit him like a truck.

And it didn't just leave him at the roadside - he _wished_ it did.

No, the truck drove past and another truck kept on going... Rinse and repeat.

Not the part where he had been knocking on the windows of a white pickup truck specifically, but definitely the part where he was dragged onto the car seat, and everything that had transpired afterwards.

**_”I’ve liked you since elementary! I think.”_ **

“Aghh!” Ren sat up on his bed and screamed towards the ceiling, ruffling his own hair in frustration.

_How could I have let that slip…?_ Thinking to himself, he shook his head to rid the anxiety away – there was definitely no use in dwelling on it, but the fact that he had let it slip just like that…

He turned to his phone immediately the moment it started buzzing.

_Ryuji: I’m expensive_

_Ryuji: lol_

_Ann: 0/10 never again._

_Futaba: Tasteless. Terrible._

_Futaba: Im whatever the opposite of America is today, sorry._

_Ryuji: Sorry, I had to. Been wanting to pull that for ages._

_Ryuji: Okay but seriously, what’s up?_

He started typing quickly to brief his friends, but had to pause.

Looking at the line of text he had typed down, he frowned, and took a deep breath, what with the amount of typos he had been making.

He went back to the mistyped words, and managed to form a more coherent sentence.

_Confessed. to Akechi. Need advice now._

Within seconds, he received a phone call from Ann and stared at it for a few seconds.

Hesitantly, he picked up the call and didn’t even have a chance to respond.

“Shibuya Diner. You have 30 minutes.”

She didn’t even ask when he did it, or what the circumstances surrounding it were.

He could only hope now that she doesn’t grill him too bad.

-

“Holy shit, dude.” Ryuji was half-laughing, though he definitely did feel sorry for him. “…Sorry. So, what happened after that?”

“Well…” Ren shrugged. “I vaguely remember the drive after that was just silence… I mumbled a bunch of things. Probably.”

He paused, and only groaned in frustration, for what he assumed must have been the thousandth time that day.

“I don’t know.”

“We did tell you to lay off the alcohol…” Ann sighed. “Did he say anything at all about it…?”

“…No? Yes?” He shrugged, again. “I mean, he got me out of the car and onto my bed…”

“Smooth.”

“Ryuji!” Ann kicked his leg from under the table.

“Ouch! Sorry…”

“…And then… And then he left.” He slumped against his seat, letting out a heavy sigh. “I think that’s that.”

Ann bit her lip, tempted to say something but unsure – should she chide him about it, or should she try to cheer him up?

“I mean…” Ryuji was the one to speak first. “…Give him a few days, and reach out to him?”

“I’ve given him more than a _few_ days.” He shook his head. “He thought I was still fully drunk. As in… I don’t remember anything drunk.”

Ann’s mouth fell open a little, and Ren could have sworn she paled a little bit as well.

“Well…” She thought to herself, but then looked away, mumbling. “Actually, never mind.”

“…What?” He eyed her cautiously, expecting an answer.

Ann turned to him in response.

“ _What_ what?”

“Well… you looked like you had a great idea.”

“I wish it was.” She shrugged. “I’d say call him up and talk about it, pretend it never happened, just apologise for being drunk…”

“…But won’t it just feel like it’s going to end up in circles?” Ryuji’s face fell at the realisation that no matter what they do, it won’t seem to end well.

“Right.” Ann looked at Ren, who now looked like he was lost in thought. “…Actually, there _is_ something that I want to ask that might help you decide what next.”

“Shoot.” There was a small glint of hope in his eyes, and Ann only raised an eyebrow. 

“To ask the question or to kill you?” Ryuji chimed in.

“Surprise me.” He finger-gunned at the blonde man.

“Hey!” She glared at the both of them, _especially_ toward Ryuji, who shrugged and pointed at Ren.  
Not that turning to glare to Ren did anything – he pointed back at the blonde man, and she shook her head.

“Anyway,” She sighed as she said it, a long pause before she continued. “I guess what I wanted to ask is, where do you want this relationship to go?”

“…Whoa, that’s fast.” Ren let out an awkward laugh. “We’ve only just met several days ago.”

“Don’t make me remind you of your drunken confession.”

“He did too, and I was drunk.”

“…Which makes it even harder for Akechi the longer you ignore him.”

“…Yeah, actually.” He shrugged, defeated.

“Besides, in your own words, you’re here for a good time and not for a long time.” Ann continued.  
“And you’ve already confessed. Might as well.”

“Yeah… Gotta agree with her, dude.” Ryuji nodded. “Ring Akechi up, too. Talk with him. This doesn’t just affect you, y’know.

”I mean, you guys have a point…” He leaned towards the table, and looked at his best friends with curious eyes. “But I… I guess I’m scared.”

“Of?” Ryuji asked.

“I don’t know. It’s…” He scratched his head. “I… really screwed up, that wasn’t meant to happen. At least, not like that.”

“Talk to him.” She gave him a smile, hoping that she could reassure him. “It’ll work out.”

“I will.” The corners of his mouth curved up. “Thanks, Ann.”

“And even if it didn’t work out…” Ann pursed her lips. “You’d be glad you at least gave it a shot.”

To that, Ren responded after taking a deep breath.

“Hope it doesn’t go sour, then.”

“Hey, Ren.” Ryuji immediately interjected. “Should we come as moral support?” 

Ren paused for a few seconds, actually considering it before agreeing.

“…If you want to, I don’t see why not.”

Ryuji’s eyes lit up, and he looked at Ann with a wide grin on his face.

Immediately, Ann crossed her arms.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No!”

“I’ll side with whoever tells me what’s going on first.” Ren interrupted.

“Stakeout van.” Ryuji immediately responded with glee, much to Ann’s further complaints.

Ren’s face was a bit confused, but he leaned towards Ryuji and nodded.

“I mean, I’m listening.”

-

“Why are _you_ the one driving, again?” Ryuji complained.

“Because I don’t trust you.”

“Huh?”

“You, driving a stakeout van? Nope.” She popped the ‘p’ at the end. “It’s like trusting a 3-year-old boy who’d just been given a monster truck on their birthday.”

“Harsh.” He frowned.

“Anyway, you called him, right?” Ann looked at Ren through the rear view mirror.

“Yep.”

“Said that you wanted to talk?” Ryuji turned to look at him from the front passenger seat, and noticed how he was anxiously looking at his phone.

“I did.” He nodded. “Though…”

“Though…?” Ryuji asked again.

“It’s just that… He paused for a really long time, before agreeing.”

“…You think he’s a no-show?” Whispering the question to Ren, his face fell.

“…He’s never been…” He trailed off, and shook his head as soon as he realised that he did. “I mean, I hope not.”

“I leave you two for a few seconds and suddenly it’s all doom and gloom back there.” Ann raised an eyebrow. “Look, I’m sure he’ll show. Now to wait for him… where again?”

“Oh, it’s a Monjayaki store.”

“Dude, I thought Monjayaki was our thing.” Ryuji turned to him, looking betrayed.

“We’ve got our whole lives ahead of us.” Ren leaned forward as much as he can, and reached for Ryuji’s shoulder. “We’ll find another thing, bro.”

“Bro.” Ryuji pretended to wipe a tear off his cheek.

“…Alright then.” Ann mouthed silently, ignoring the two.

-

Ren held on to his coat as he waited outside of the store, the cold autumn air suddenly feeling like it was a bit much for the turtleneck that he was wearing.

“You doin’ alright?” Ryuji checked in on him once again, voice ringing from the earphones that he had put in.

“Yeah. I’m all good.” He replied. “Just a little nervous.”

“A little?” Ann’s tone was interrogative. “It took us all our strength to get you out of this van earlier.”

“Kind of nervous, then…?”

“Oh, I think that’s him!” Ryuji whispered. “Checkered sweater vest?”

His eyes darted across the crowd of people crossing, and soon enough he noticed the familiar brown hair.

“Yep. Alright, wish me luck you guys.” Ren rubbed his hands together. “Talk to you later.”

He took his phone out of his pocket and hung up.

_Where I want this relationship to go…_ Ren thought to himself, remembering Ann’s words and the response that he had not given to either Ann or Ryuji.

He was sure of it.

But then he waved at Akechi, who immediately noticed him and waved back – the mere act of which gave him anxiety.

_…I…I hope you feel the same, somehow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stakeout van? stakeout van.


	4. "Buckle Up."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren slips up.
> 
> But this time it's all for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: It's just going to be two chapters! haha lol uber driver au  
> also me: i've upped the chapter count once again folks
> 
> We're actually done here, you guys!  
> It's just that Chap. 5 is a small thing I wanted to include because I punished myself over how shitposty this could have been if REN WAS THE UBER DRIVER
> 
> I'm a Fool  
> WHat we could've HAD

_Talk, huh…_ Akechi thought, peeking beyond the menu to look at Ren who was looking at the menus glued onto the walls.

They were both currently sitting inside the restaurant, and the last time that they had spoken at all to each other was before they entered. Though it was just a simple greeting…

And now they’re facing each other, an awkward silence setting in between them, Akechi hiding behind the menu.

But Akechi wasn’t exactly hiding, per se. He was… still attentively studying the menu that he had been given earlier.

 _…This is a waste of time, isn’t it?_ He sighed, putting the menu down on the table.

“Can… Can I just start this off by saying I’m sorry?” Ren spoke out of the blue, laughing awkwardly at the end of the sentence.

“I’m… sorry for getting drunk, and I… really troubled you last night.”

“Ah, it’s… fine. I’ve had worse passengers.” He put up a pleasant smile. “It’s… It’s no big deal.”

“But it shouldn’t be fine, and it should be a big deal.” He slumped onto his seat. “I can’t just be another terrible passenger.”

Akechi took note of Ren’s eyes – black orbs, shy and withdrawn, as if tugged upon by an unspoken heavy guilt.

“I… That wasn’t right of me. I’m sorry.” 

“…Well...” Akechi pursed his lips, and paused.

“I… meant to message you, that night.” Ren admitted. “But then I was just anxious, and I decided not to… and went for drinks instead.”

“…Can I ask you something?”

Akechi decided to ask, hoping that he’d the answers that he came for.

“Uh, yeah.” Though he seemed to be slightly taken aback by it, he sat upright and put his hands together on the table. “…Go ahead.”

“How much do you remember?”

Ren opened his mouth, as if to say something, but he looked distracted – probably by the tinge of shy, pastel pink that dusted his cheeks.

And that felt like an answer enough for him.

“…I suppose that’s my answer.” He spoke quietly. “I’ll be taking my leave, then.”

Akechi scuffled to the other end of the stall, and quickly stood on his feet – he was eager to avoid any further discussions.

He wasn’t sure if there was anything more that he could do. What, was he about to further embarrass himself?

Surprise, surprise. Ren was just drunk, and didn’t really mean those words.

He was absolutely not going to have it.

But he had not even walked three steps when Ren shouted, swiftly tugging upon Akechi’s sleeve.

“A-Akechi!”

His face was painted with worry and fear as he pleaded for him to stay.

“Akechi, please…”

“…And embarrass myself?” He muttered bitterly, not even once looking Ren in his eyes.

“Huh…?” Ren’s face turned confused. “Why… Why would you embarrass yourself?”

“…You… obviously just wanted to apologise.” Akechi sighed. “Not to mention that drunk you probably felt bad for me.”

“Wh—”

“I doubt you do have feelings for me, if at all.”

 _It was silly of me to expect much, anyway._ He thought to himself.

He managed to break free of Ren’s grasp, quickly apologised to the cashier on his way out, and exited the restaurant.

But what he miscalculated was the fact that Ren had followed, and had managed to reach him just as the door had closed.

Ren pulled on the back of his shirt, and successfully grabbed his attention.

Akechi turned to look at him, eyes wide.

“Ren…?”

Ren looked like he was lost, but his eyes had not wavered even for a second – not once had it left Akechi’s from the moment their eyes had met.

Not even for a moment.

_Why…_

Within a second, Ren cupped Akechi’s cheeks and leaned in closer, his eyes slowly closing.

And all of Akechi’s thoughts washed away – at first in shock.

It was just that he was so sure, _so_ convinced, that it was just him.

That it was just him who had genuinely enjoyed Ren’s company, who had struggled in fear of losing him, and weakly admitted to himself that he had fallen in love with his best friend.

And yet there he was – standing in the middle of the walkway, kissing Ren Amamiya.

Akechi could have sworn that he was waiting to taste a bitter kiss, but it was sweet and soft, loving and affectionate – all that Ren was.

Still is, perhaps.

So it was easy then for Akechi to close his eyes, and lean into the kiss.

-

“…You wanted to start over?” Akechi tilted his head to the side, indicating for Ren to elaborate.

“I mean,” Ren paused, pouring Worcestershire sauce on the piece of Monjayaki on his plate. “We’d been so out of touch, and how I met you again… was too much of a disaster.”

“Oh, I don't think it was that bad.” The ever-pleasant smile was once again on his lips. “But perhaps the next time that you want to flirt with someone, maybe actually say ‘single’ instead of ‘weird’.”

“…You knew, huh?” Ren let out a choppy laugh.

“Not the first time someone’s tried and failed.” Akechi took the long-forgotten spatula on the side, and pushed the mixture away from the middle of the pan.

“The tough life of an Uber driver.” He nodded to himself. "But... I'm surprised you had no idea."

"No idea of?" 

"Of... My feelings for you, I guess." Dusty pink coloured his cheeks as he let out a choppy laugh. "It feels kind of weird to say..."

"...I don't understand." 

Akechi legitimately didn't understand - did Ren mean to say that sometime in their childhood days, he had confessed? Because if he did, then he was certain that he would remember.

He wouldn't forget that... would he?

Whilst Akechi was in the middle of doubting his memories, Ren continued. 

"It's... well, all the waiting at the bus stop and at the school gates, the guilt whenever I teased you and took your food..." He was slightly mumbling at this point, but Akechi had managed to catch it all. "I didn't really know back then, but having you around, or even just seeing you..." 

_Oh._ It was all obvious now, and he felt his cheeks grow hot. 

"Uh, anyway!" Ren quickly shifted back to his usual demeanor. He put both his arms on the table, and had a smile on his face.  
“Since you’re my boyfriend now, does that mean that you’d waive my fees if I do _things_ with you?”

Akechi chuckled, looking absolutely amused.

“...One, we’ve not had that discussion yet.” He cut out a piece of the mixture, and placed it on his place. “Two, I would charge you extra. Especially because you said _do things_ – what are you, a child?”

“Well, you’re a very expensive boyfriend.” Ren responded to the light chide.

“Takes one to know one.”

“What have I got that indicates I’m expensive?” Slightly taken aback, he feigned hurt.

“Said the chocolate fountain in your bedroom.” Akechi raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t even look at Ren – he was somewhat confident that he had delivered the coup de grâce to this argument.

“Didn’t buy it. It’s a long story involving a happy friend and a food buffet.” He quickly defended himself.

“Would this be the friend who has been calling you non-stop for the past few minutes?” He pointed at the Ren’s phone on the table, the screen was dim but it was definitely lit up.

Quickly, Ren turned to look at the phone.

“…Thirteen missed calls?” He mumbled.

“Oh, well… I suppose you have a lot of explaining to do to your parents. You’ve been gone awhile.”

“…Not my parents.” Ren held the phone on its sides, and turned the screen off. “They’re just my friends.”

He then put his hands together and looked at the ceiling, as if deep in thought.

“…Though, they are kind of like my parents here… Now that I think about it…”

“Would meeting them be worse than meeting your actual parents?”

“Look who’s going real fast.” Ren laughed, but quickly deadpanned. “But yes. It would be worse.”

“…Would they happen to be the two blonde people at the end of the window over there?” Akechi’s eyes darted to the side quickly, and Ren followed suit.

Sure enough, Ren spotted two familiar faces stuck to the window, now awkwardly waving at them.

“So…” Ren sighed. “Those are my fake parents, Ryuji and Ann.”

Akechi slowly waved back at them.

“...You can run now, if you’d like.” Ren warned as soon as he sees them walk towards the door…

If he can even call it that.

At this point, it was like a competition between the two of them to get to the door first.

He sighed, and turned to Akechi – who responded only with warm laughter.

“It’s all good. I’ll just… buckle up.”

Ren’s eyes widened in amusement, and a wide smile broke on his face.

“You just had to, didn’t you?”

“Wasn’t going to miss it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! and for being super patient especially between chapters 2 to 3!
> 
> legit writing multichaps is a whole other experience.  
> The true heroes here are people who write chapters and chapters worth of content and story because ur all gods ur all celestials how do you do what you do.
> 
> Also,  
> I'm sorry if the pacing felt rushed - I'm not going to lie, I didn't think this through.  
> It was meant to be a short one, basically Ren flirting with Akechi for two chapters, but somehow... this spiralled into four chapters of feelings and emotions and..... WELL here we are.


	5. "I am the police."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU of an AU where the uber driver is Ren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> absolutely unrelated also bc this is a different fandom and i've just started playing this game but can we talk about how yakuza 6: song of life is basically yakuza 6: grand theft baby

“Rough night?” Ren asked, looking at Akechi through the rearview mirror.

Akechi loosened his tie, and slumping onto the seat.

“Sort of.” He put up the usually pleasant smile he thought he didn’t usually have to maintain around this hour. “I’m going to assume the same of you?”

“Yeah, well, I’ve had worse.” Ren shrugged. “It’s nice to see you again, though.”

“You make it sound like this was coincidence.”

“I’d like to think of it that way.” He turned to look behind him, and winked at Akechi.

“…I mean, with you offering to wait for me around where I work…” Akechi shook his head.

“…I still don’t know what it is you do.” Ren clicked his tongue.

“So sue me, I like to keep you guessing.” He chuckled.

“I’m still convinced you’re… either a policeman of some kind, or maybe some sort of a manager.” He turned to the steering wheel and started driving, going down familiar roads.

“Keep guessing.”

-

“It’s… oddly quiet.” Akechi commented.

“…That’s true.” Ren hummed to himself.

“Lucky us. Seems that I can get home sooner than usual.”

Ren mumbled in agreement, but it was obvious to Akechi that he was distracted.

He was thinking of something else… and he just can’t quite figure out what.

“…Hey, do you trust me?”

“No.” Akechi’s reply came quick.

“Goro Akechi.” He feigned shock and disappointment. “After all those years of companionship I’ve given you?”

“Still no.” He peered to look at the clock on the dashboard, and sighed. “To be specific, I don’t trust _that_ tone of yours.”

“Give me a little credit.” His response was simply laughter. “Anyway, we’ll get you home in… less than twenty.”

The realisation didn’t quite hit Akechi – All he was wondering at this point was how? Because he knows that from this area, even without the usual traffic jam, it takes around 25 minutes.

_A shortcut?_

Only a few seconds after that did it hit him.

The car was going much quicker than before, though not exactly at breakneck speed.

“Ren.”

“Can’t talk, racing against my inner demons.” He joked.

“Ren, you’re almost over the speed limit.” Akechi’s tone was much more serious.

“Eh, the police aren’t here.” He dismissed him.

Akechi took a heavy sigh, and he could’ve sworn that Ren had planned this somehow.

“…I _am_ the police.”

Knowing this man, he’s not exactly above various and complicated schemes to get answers.

He could feel the car slowly come to a halt, along with a Ren who squinted at him through the rearview mirror once the car had come to a complete stop.

"..."

"...?" Akechi questioned the stare, though without words.

Ren shrugged nonchalantly, as if pretending he wasn't happy that he had managed to figure out his childhood friend's current job. 

"Not the way I wanted to find out, but I _knew_ it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to stake claim on the wonderful piece of dialogue that's "Ren ur going over the speed limit" "THE COPS AREN'T HERE" "I AM THE COP"


End file.
